doctorbadwolf
Heretic of The Seventh Circle
So in this thread by @EzekielRaiden I proposed a framework for a simple caster, and @Charlaquin suggested it was a good framework for spellcasting in general, and now it is brain crack i must write out or it will never give me peace.
so
Mana Points
At least one spellcasting class should use a system of spellcasting that is based in quickly refreshing shallow pool of mana or spellpower. 1 point per level, with maybe a bonus equal to your casting modifier, regain 1 when you crit with a spell, regain all with a short or long rest, and a couple times a day regain an amount based on level as an action. At later level you can add a "if you roll initiative and have no mana, you regain mana equal to your spellcasting modifier" feature.
The point is, you never have enough to do many big booms, and your highest level spells will always cost around half your total mana, because the mana cost is 1 per spell level.
(rant: the 5e dmg spell points variant is horrible. Very much like how thaco was horrible. Is it hard to figure out? No. But it is complicated for no benefit to the game. Just make it 1 per spell level, with a maximum number of mana you can spend at once equal to half your level rounded up, and go from there. It is always better to reduce how often someone needs to look in the books before choosing an action)
Elemental Weapons - Replace attack cantrips with spell weapons. Example,
Ice - 1d6 cold damage, range 60ft, long range 120ft, Slow
Some classes have only a few proficiency in spell weapons, while full casters generally have proficiency in all of them.
Possibly give them Mastery Traits as well as normal properties, but only if weapon mastery carries over to this hypothetical version of dnd.
Impliments - Some spellcasters can also master implements, which are what 5e calls spellcasting focuses, and they give an additional property to your spell attacks or boost an existing property. Maybe mastery is like fighting style. If you are a Stave Caster, you're a spell sniper with longer range and extra damage on crits, while wands let you do a spell weapon attack as a bonus action, and rods boost aoe attacks.
School Proficiency and Expertise
Every school of magic is a skill, but you have to have Spell School Proficiency as a feature, or some other feature that grants it, to have any proficiencies in spell schools. You also still have Arcana, Religion, and Nature, which are how you learn to do prestidigitation, thaumaturgy, and druidcraft, type cantrip stuff. They are all uses of those skills.
Then each spell school has cantrip level uses that are easy, even automatically successful when there aren't real stakes or opposition, but there are also more powerful things you can do, with strong guidelines on when one has to spend Mana to do powerful stuff with these skills, or perhaps Spell Expertise is required to do more advanced stuff, and only spellcasters have Spell Expertise.
But basically these are largely utility and ritual magic.
A simple caster would only have mana, spell weapons, a couple impliments and a couple school proficiencies and no expertise, only a few spells that it really leans on and boosts, and then whatever makes the class unique. Maybe even skip either the impliments or the proficiencies and boost their spell weapons and their 3-5 spells known.
The wizard would have all of it, eventually, plus a 5e style spellbook and the 5e wizard ritual casting thing or something like it. Wizard feels like they are playing a character with a doctorate in spellcraft, basically.
Oh, and I think in this model most half-casters in 5e would just not have spells as such, and only have some spell weapons, some school proficiency, and rituals which would be it's own thing like in 4e, and the rest of the class is feature based rather than spells. Paladins have smite and lay on hands, rangers have wilderness knacks and enemy focus banes and hunter's quarry, etc.
so
Mana Points
At least one spellcasting class should use a system of spellcasting that is based in quickly refreshing shallow pool of mana or spellpower. 1 point per level, with maybe a bonus equal to your casting modifier, regain 1 when you crit with a spell, regain all with a short or long rest, and a couple times a day regain an amount based on level as an action. At later level you can add a "if you roll initiative and have no mana, you regain mana equal to your spellcasting modifier" feature.
The point is, you never have enough to do many big booms, and your highest level spells will always cost around half your total mana, because the mana cost is 1 per spell level.
(rant: the 5e dmg spell points variant is horrible. Very much like how thaco was horrible. Is it hard to figure out? No. But it is complicated for no benefit to the game. Just make it 1 per spell level, with a maximum number of mana you can spend at once equal to half your level rounded up, and go from there. It is always better to reduce how often someone needs to look in the books before choosing an action)
Elemental Weapons - Replace attack cantrips with spell weapons. Example,
Ice - 1d6 cold damage, range 60ft, long range 120ft, Slow
Some classes have only a few proficiency in spell weapons, while full casters generally have proficiency in all of them.
Possibly give them Mastery Traits as well as normal properties, but only if weapon mastery carries over to this hypothetical version of dnd.
Impliments - Some spellcasters can also master implements, which are what 5e calls spellcasting focuses, and they give an additional property to your spell attacks or boost an existing property. Maybe mastery is like fighting style. If you are a Stave Caster, you're a spell sniper with longer range and extra damage on crits, while wands let you do a spell weapon attack as a bonus action, and rods boost aoe attacks.
School Proficiency and Expertise
Every school of magic is a skill, but you have to have Spell School Proficiency as a feature, or some other feature that grants it, to have any proficiencies in spell schools. You also still have Arcana, Religion, and Nature, which are how you learn to do prestidigitation, thaumaturgy, and druidcraft, type cantrip stuff. They are all uses of those skills.
Then each spell school has cantrip level uses that are easy, even automatically successful when there aren't real stakes or opposition, but there are also more powerful things you can do, with strong guidelines on when one has to spend Mana to do powerful stuff with these skills, or perhaps Spell Expertise is required to do more advanced stuff, and only spellcasters have Spell Expertise.
But basically these are largely utility and ritual magic.
A simple caster would only have mana, spell weapons, a couple impliments and a couple school proficiencies and no expertise, only a few spells that it really leans on and boosts, and then whatever makes the class unique. Maybe even skip either the impliments or the proficiencies and boost their spell weapons and their 3-5 spells known.
The wizard would have all of it, eventually, plus a 5e style spellbook and the 5e wizard ritual casting thing or something like it. Wizard feels like they are playing a character with a doctorate in spellcraft, basically.
Oh, and I think in this model most half-casters in 5e would just not have spells as such, and only have some spell weapons, some school proficiency, and rituals which would be it's own thing like in 4e, and the rest of the class is feature based rather than spells. Paladins have smite and lay on hands, rangers have wilderness knacks and enemy focus banes and hunter's quarry, etc.
